One of the more remarkable photography collections I’ve stumbled on in recent years is one shot by William Gedney of the extended Cornett family in rural Kentucky. He shot them twice; first in 1964 and then again in 1972. There’s 921 images in total, and a healthy percentage include the cars in their lives, and the struggle to keep them going. These photos are quite a poignant look back in time, when families were large (12 kids in the Cornett family), poverty was rampant, and the drug and obesity crises hadn’t yet set in, among other things. And the men spent a lot of time with their cars.

Here’s the Cornett family, headed by Willie and Vivian, and their 12 children in 1964. Most of the images I’ve selected are from 1972, when the kids are all older, but some are also from 1964.

The ’55 Ford makes a number of appearances in the 1964 shots; presumably it was the main family car at the time.

These scenes are a reminder of how simply many Americans still lived in the 60s and 70s, without indoor plumbing and such. It might as well be a third world country, and a very poor one at that.

The Ford appears to be in need of constant ministrations.

Here it’s on “the rack”.

Let’s skip to 1972, as there’s a lot more images and a lot more boys that need wheels, or at least want to have them. The family allegiance seems to have switched over to Chevys.

This kid was probably pretty well versed with basic car mechanics at the time.

Time to get back out. He has a lot more faith in the bumper jack than I would anymore, but I did plenty of the same back in the day. Literally about the same time. In fact what’s interesting about these shots from 1972 is that they don’t yet reflect the impact of cultural changes that were so rampant at the time, like long hair, which was even starting to be adopted by the, um, other side of the cultural divide. Maybe in another year or two. But it makes these 1972 shots look like they could well be from the early-mid 60s, except for how battered the cars mostly are.

There were still Fords around to attend to in 1972, like this ’57.

Or this 1960.

Or just to lean on.

But the ’63, ’64 and ’65 Chevy are a common fixture in 1972.

Here’s a 409 being either installed or removed from the ’65 Chevy.

Two girls are playing with their barbie dolls in the shade of the ’65 Biscayne.

While an older girl daydreams on the trunk. About what life post-Barbie will be like?

An engine and transmission being moved either into or out of the Mercury wagon. The hard way.

An old Chevy truck getting some needed attention.

A similar GMC getting what appears to be a brake job. The drill is probably being used to hone the wheel cylinder. I remember that all too well; why did wheel cylinders leak so readily back then, and never in modern times?

The same truck, presumably, broken down in a foggy field.

And here it is again with a skinny girl. Well, just about everyone is skinny.

It’s not that they presumably didn’t feed the kids; it’s just that the food and portions where very different then. Cornbread and beans; probably a common meal, washed down with water, not soda. There are also pictures of the kids picking beans in the garden, and girls sewing on treadle sewing machines.

This time it’s an old IH truck that needs attention.

Flat tires are a recurring theme. This is a poignant image. That tire looks…not like it should. Hopefully it was just the spare.

An inner tube getting patched.

A Honda 65 makes an appearance. It will probably be a while yet before the first Japanese cars do.

And even it too needs attention.

If the cars won’t run, one can always walk.

A revolver lays in the foreground.

This tot doesn’t want to be left out of the action. Given the ’55 Ford, this shot is probably from 1972.

This is no Chevy.

Nary a Chrysler product anywhere, except for this old one.

And there’s this Valiant. Can I ever relate to this.

Two girls, again with the ’65 Biscayne. Bonus points if you can identify the car they’re leaning on.

These relatives are Ford lovers.

The (very) young family and their first car.

Petting the family Chevys.

Got to start them young.

Time to say goodbye to the Cornetts. In this final shot, the photographer, William Gedney (front center), has embedded himself with his subjects.

Gedney’s work in documenting this family at play, work, fixing their cars or just passing a cigarette is a remarkable undertaking, and it’s well worth the time to peruse the full collection (here), as well as his other collections too, at Duke University’s Library digital collections.

51 Comments

I’ve seen these photos before, and since I’m the right age to be one of the younger kids I always wonder, what ever happened to these people? Did they benefit from the changes since 1972 or did they get left behind?

Wow, that was marvelous, thanks for picking them out and posting them. If it wasn’t for the cars, I would easily have pictured these on Shorpy with headings such as “Hardscrabble family in Nebraska, 1920’s” or something similar.

What really stood out to me:

1. That ’56 Ford looks fairly beat already by 1964. I guess it’s had a hard life before this family acquired it and it didn’t get much easier after.

2. No tattoos anywhere on anyone that I saw.

3. Always long pants and real shoes. And almost never a shirt.

4. I’m a lot softer, these guys laying on the dirt and rocks as a matter of course every time. I have an epoxied garage floor and I still look for a clean blanket or cardboard to lay on when crawling under a car 🙂

1. It does but I’m surprised it looks this good. Cars of this era aged fast in that climate, even when better cared for.
2. A good thing:-)
3. Shorts (and sandals/flip flops) on lower/middle class men were pretty rare in the heartland until late 70’s (the OP brand and cutoffs spread fast). The upper middle/upper classes might wear golf/tennis shorts and bermudas on occasion.
4. No kidding. Rough life.

I’m surprised to see not that many cigarettes – too poor to afford them? (though they were pretty cheap then). May just be the nature of these shots – and looking more closely I do see some I missed.

I think they were better off not having Doritos and soda around. As Paul notes, corn bread and beans and water were better.

I also noted the lack of tattoos, and another thing that is markedly different from today: No one is talking or texting on a cell phone! 😀

Obviously cell phones didn’t exist – while tattoos did – but it illustrates to me how folks passed the time back then. Oftentimes, people just tinkered with things to have something to do; I recall older relatives doing this.

Except for the family shots, not a smile to be seen. Great pictures and time capsule. Makes me appreciate different people’s life experiences. The cars are appreciated as well. Cars seem to have aged quickly back in these times.

Cars did age quickly. These scenes could be my extended family. Driving was not cheap as most cars rusted to nothingness in about five years. I am also pretty assured than more than one of the family haulers here hit a ditch or two on the way home from the Dew Drop Inn, or got hooned on a dirt road.

We take it for granted now that we can spend $20,000 and have a car that will not no repairs for ten years or longer. No so in those days!

Cars really have come a long way. The oldies were easier to work on, but they needed that work a lot more often. Now 200 or even 300k miles is not uncommon to see on a still road worthy car. And corrosion resistance is so much better, as well.

A very interesting collection of real life photos from the days where old cars were cheap, and anyone with basic mechanical sense could work on them. A couple of nits to pick; the ’56 Ford in photo 3 is actually a ’55. The one is photo 4 is also a ’55, but a different one than in 3. Photo 3 is a Fairlane, 4 is a Customline. Photo 5 goes back to the Fairlane, then photo’s 6 and 36 revert back to the Customline.

The car the girls are leaning on in photo 40 is the ’57 Chevy wagon that is in photo’s 42, 43 & 46.

I see a Corvair and a Corvan, one might wonder how those oddballs became a part of the collection. I would guess because they were cheap. Corvairs were a dime a dozen in the early seventies.

Someone mentioned that first Ford has being rough for it’s age. I agree, but the ’64 Impala convertible looks rougher to me. That thing is beat all the way around and it was 8 years old in ’72.

Great article and amazing photos especially the Pistol just lying around among others. Makes the rural poverty in the Southern Tier of New York not look so bad. Then again, drug use and alcoholisim is a problem there that not apparent in these photos.

When I drove through the Commonwealth of Kentucky parts of the state looked like the 21st Century version of these photographs which was a bit startling. I remember in 2011 seeing a dirty, barefoot family of 4-5 pile out of a ratty circa 1995 F-150 Regular Cab while pops bought gas. Also remember seeing a 1980s Civic Hatchback painted up like the General Lee. When I went back in 2012 I saw several people using ATVs as vehicles on backroads, a bunch of ratty vehicles, and other signs of poverty. As long as you were respectful people generally respected you though I could see puzzlement in some of their eyes.

Tennessee also has a similar vibes in parts of the state, but a lot more signs with bullet holes in them; more than I have seen anywhere else. There was also some xenophobia in regards to a Mosque in Murfeesboro and I saw some racsim tied in with the presidential election later that year. Again, people were friendly enough, at least on the surface.

As a kid back in the ’50’s & ’60’s I used to go on vacations every summer with the family. My folks liked to go to Kentucky and Tennessee most years. Dad liked to take movies driving down the road. I have some of these on DVD and some of the towns along the road look a lot like this. Last month we were driving through Tennessee and due to a rock slide I-75 was closed, so we had to bypass the area via a mountain highway that looked a lot like one we drove on back then. I told my brother when we got back that things didn’t look a whole lot different after 50 years except the junk cars sitting around were of newer vintage. I have been through that part of the country a few times as an adult, but always on the Interstates.
I would rather grow up as a poor kid in the country than the city, then or now. That is just my opinion.

I’ll be in Kentucky for work for the entire month of May, though in a smallish city, Hopkinsville (population ~35k). Makes me wonder what I’ll see if I go off the beaten path…probably a lot different than what I’m used to in the more urban areas of North Carolina and Virginia.

As someone who lives in the outskirts of the really rural areas of Pennsylvania, another name is Parkansas. Heck, in one of the more metropolitan areas of PA, Lehigh Valley, my dad went to one room school houses into the 1960’s.
The first day of class for kindergarten was teaching the kids how to get coal from the cellar and to start the stove. Some areas around there didn’t have electricity and therefore running water; their wells had hand pumps.

And some towns very close to my hometown of Dexter, ME to boot. More mobile homes in ME these days, though. Maine also makes CCing difficult because of the winters. None of those 50s cars would have made it to 1972 in Maine.

My mother is from a town in Eastern KY not far from this, and these photos remind me of what is was like visiting in the 70s and 80s, down to the huge number of kids, work pants with no shirt, and about 30 cars being tinkered with at any given point of time. Now that the mines are almost gone, and meth has moved in, it is rather a truly forlorn place. Those miners had a rough life. Both my grandfathers died in mines, as did several great uncles.

What an extraordinary trove, unvarnished glimpses of a moment in time by someone who really knew how to handle a camera. That kneeling shot with the dud tyre has almost religious overtones. The irony these days is that some of these could pass as fashion shots for an urban/recreational wear brand.

Yes, yes, and…yes, especially on the last point. ‘Authenticity’ is such a lure, for those that haven’t experienced its reality. And these folks were undoubtedly gawking at ads in magazines that extolled the suburban ideal.The grass is always greener…

It looks like my Father’s childhood in the 1930s, before the days of socialised education and healthcare. People of my generation here sometimes forget how many more opportunities for a better life we got, compared to these families.

Biscayne with 409 was probably home brewed–maybe to move some homebrew!

The ’57 ford has had an FE swapped in with a Holley carb, so these guys were not only keeping these heaps running but upgrading them when they could. Mid 60s fairlane and mustang gt’s had 390ci FE’s with Holleys from the factory, so in 1972 that was probably an easy find. An FE 390/352 will bolt right in the same spot as a Y-block, so it makes it an easy shadetree upgrade.

These pictures are time capsules in so many ways, but one thing that they definitely show is that although cars were easier to work on back then, you were always working on them. Often how people came together was under the hood of a car. In the days before cell phones, a raised hood or holding out a set of jumper cables was a plea that you needed help. The nice thing about these pictures is that it was never raining or snowing in them. Reality is that often times it was.

Interesting pictures. These were people that did for themselves and their families and they could always take pride in that. Poor people might live better and easier today but government assistance might have eroded some of that pride. They were always busy fixing a car but there are those others around as spares.

I grew up on Vancouver Island and while there was some rural poverty like this, it wasn’t as widespread. In fact, the only truly impoverished places I have ever seen in Canada are the First Nations’ reserves, which are our great national shame here in Canada. There were some very poor segments of the country, but they are now at reasonable standard.

Crack and meth ravage cities now, and heroin in the countryside. It’s cutting down shocking numbers.

Poor but getting along ok it seems. As Paul notes, no obesity. The kids are pretty skinny, as but the young men late teens/early 20s have a lean and ready-to-rumble look. Probably a lot of cigs and beer, but better than today’s meth & oxy.

Not sure rural poor are much better off today. Maybe worse. Indoor plumbing and Medicaid a plus, but drugs and so much cheap food make today seem worse.

These types of pictorials always leave me uncomfortable. Look how many they are. Look how thin they are. Look how dirty it all is. Look how short their hair is. I bet Goodwill would give them a few shirts. All viewed from the comfort of our easy chair in our modern life which the photographer clearly shares. Perhaps we should mind our own business, as in God’s eyes if not our own, the Cornetts are our equal.

We can start with lack of access to prenatal care and emergency care at delivery, leading to a higher rate of infant mortality (for all those children, there were likely to be also a few graves with Babies A, B and C in the family cemetery). Then we have fetal malnutrition, and fetal alcohol spectrum disease, leading to lower learning potential and overall vitality. Lack of access to regular childhood vaccinations would lead to higher childhood morbidity and mortality (the life expectancy of the American male grew by 56% during the 1900’s-from 50 at birth to 68-and much of this was due the eradication of childhood illnesses). Then we have a higher rate of accidents-those bumper jacks were just as shaky as they look. Early use of tobacco would lead to a higher rate of tobacco addiction, eventually resulting in high rates of previously-unusual types of cancers, such as lip, throat and lung. Early marriage often meant teenage pregnancy, which is higher risk for both mother and fetus. Domestic violence and child abuse rates would probably be about the same as in urban settings, save for the lack of services or a way “out.” Alcohol abuse would be common, with its effects on family functioning, income and violence. And then there would be the limited potential sources of income, such as coal mining or other such dangerous professions. These are a close-knit and proud people, who are amazingly adept at surviving and “getting by.” Look at all the kinds of automobile service and repair they were able to perform, without the aid of fancy tools or an air-conditioned shop. But it would be a mistake to romanticism them (not to mention an affront to their pride). They would want better for their children, just as we want for our own.

Admittedly…on one level, it’s difficult for me not to romanticize…I’ve seen this stuff on a much smaller scale in rural PA and New England. And anything involving Tri-Fives will automatically draw me in.

But in truth, these were not “simpler times”…simpler times is me having the ability to observe and comment about this remarkable collection from the comfort of my warm home. Believing the 14-year-old, 164,000-mile ride outside my door will take me where I need or want to go, even if it’s across the continent.

I have to wonder how the inflation that came in the wake of the 1974 and 1979 gas crises affected the family. Remember gasoline tripled in price between 1972 and the end of the decade. And these cars and trucks would have used a lot of it.

These are great, and there’s so much insight to be culled by looking through them. One thing that strikes me, which may just be a “Rose-Colored-Glasses” view of things is that in each shot where Dad or one of the elder boys is tinkering with or repairing something most if not all of the boys are right up in there, as eager to learn as the grown-ups are to teach, presumably.

For better or worse, skills, information, knowledge and values were trading hands in heavy doses under those battered old hoods. That’s become rare in today’s world in this country.

I disagree that everything is doom and gloom with this family. One should take a look at all the pics in this fine collection and not just the ones posted here. Yes the family is poor but is certainly does not look like they are destitute. They have several cars(yes they are old but a lot of folks back then and now don’t have access to any cars at all). The kitchen looks well worn but there is fridge and running water and an electric light. This means they have indoor plumbing and electricity. There is a pic of a electricity meter attached to the outside of the house. As even in the 1960’s and 1970’s a lot of rural homes did not have this, this meant the Cornett family had some money.

A look at the pics of the rooms show a living room with a modern(for that era) TV. Again not something a destitute family of that era would have as a TV was still expensive in those times and the money for that and the antenna that is mounted out front would have put many a meal on the table.
There is a pic of a room with a picture of DaVinci’s Last Supper and pics of Jesus in most rooms. This shows that they are both religious and have some knowledge of culture since you would not find a picture of a DaVinci painting in a household that was ignorant. There is also a pic of girls walking down a dirt road with books ether going to or coming from school.

There are pics showing vegetable gardens growing beans. I would not be surprised if there were other crops(like corn and tomatos) being grown in other places on the property. Indeed there a few pics showing a goodly amount of food on the table. Indeed there is the picture of the girl tying her hair back in the kitchen and off to the side are discarded egg cartons and a deep freezer.

Yes a lot of these pics show folks all dirty, it is clear that they only tell one side of the story, there are other pics showing large amounts of cloths washing and dish washing so it is not like they are dirty all the time.

Almost everybody smoked back then and you found just as many children smokers in the cities and suburbs at that time. it was accepted practice then.

Finally, while there is a pic showing a dead child in a coffin, there is no reason to think that this family suffered through many deaths of children. They would have most likely had a rural doctor(like countless areas did) looking after them. It is still only a recent thing where most women gave birth in a hospital, a lot of women back gave birth in their own home and safely.

Perhaps a better question for this forum would be to ask, “What cars are the Cornett family working on these days?” A rusty Cavalier? A Century with peeling bumpers and side trim? A clapped-out Corolla with fading paint, or Camry? Likely to be something built in high volume, for parts availability. An F-150 or Silverado with a V-6 or small V-8?

At least one Crown Vic, ex-police or taxi perhaps. Maybe a LeSabre–seem to be tons of older model LeSabres still rolling around (the equivalent 88 also works), perhaps with broken A/C or missing hubcaps. Those 3800s are pretty tough motors.